Spurs 109, Nuggets 103 – final

Gary Neal scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to pace the Spurs to a 109-103 comeback victory over Denver Wednesday night at the AT&T Center.

The Spurs confounded the Nuggets with a rare 1-2-2 zone defense that limited them to 16.6 percent in the fourth quarter after they were torched in the first three quarters by hot perimeter shooting.

The Nuggets were unable to pierce the defense, missing 17 of their first 20 shots in the final quarter and going nearly five minutes without a basket as the Spurs rallied for their 10th straight victory.

The triumph boosts the Spurs to an NBA record of 25-3 heading into Thursday’s game at Orlando.

Denver finished the fourth quarter hitting only 4-for-24 from the field and were outscored 29-14. The Nuggets were playing the game without leading scorer and rebounder Carmelo Anthony, who missed the game because of a death in his family.

The Nuggets charged on an 11-4 run to close the third quarter to an 89-80 lead – their largest lead of the game. Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers during the run, capping a 16-point effort in the quarter that was most by a Spurs opponent this season.

Denver’s strong early shooting performance continued a disturbing recent trend for the Spurs’ defense. Phoenix shot a season-best 53.5 percent on Monday night in the Spurs’ last game.

The Nuggets (16-11) erupted on separate runs of 7-0, 7-0 and 8-0 as they did not appear to miss Anthony, who came into the game ranked eighth in the league in scoring at 24 points a game.

Hot outside shooting by the Spurs guard helped spark them to a 59-56 halftime lead.

Updates by Joe Alexander

Gary Neal and Manu Ginobili had 22 points each to lead the Spurs with a 109-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center.

Neal scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.

It was the 10th victory in a row for the Spurs, who have a league-best 25-3 record.

The Spurs trailed by nine but outscored the Nuggets 29-14 in the fourth quarter.

Spurs’ defense showed up in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets shot 4 of 24 from the field – 17 percent – in the fourth quarter.

Gary Neal’s 3-pointer gave the Spurs a 95-93 lead with 6:18 left. The Spurs outscored the Nuggets 15-4 to start the quarter.

Matt Bonner’s 3-pointer cut the Nuggets’ lead to 91-88 as the Spurs get off to a solid start in the third quarter. Nuggets timeout with 8:51 left in the game.

Third quarter: Denver’s J.R. Smith scored 16 points in the third quarter. The Nuggets lead the Spurs 89-80 at the end of the third.

Denver’s J.R.Smith is still giving the Spurs fits. He has 19 points and the Nuggets lead 84-80 with 1:22 left in the third quarter.

J.R. Smith does a 360 on the way to the rim. The Nuggets lead 72-67 with 6:51 left in the third quarter. The Nuggets are still shooting 60 percent.

Second quarter: Manu Ginobili has 14 points, Gary Neal has 12 and Tony Parker has 11. The Spurs lead 59-56 at halftime. The Spurs haven’t gotten a lot of scoring from their big men. Tim Duncan scored his first points on a basket with 1:09 left in the half. DeJuan Blair got in early foul trouble and has two points. Tiago Splitter has four points.

Gary Neal is lighting it up again tonight. He has three 3-pointer and a driving basket for 11 points. the Spurs lead 44-40 with 6:34 left in the second quarter.

The patchwork Spurs lineup of Chris Quinn, Gary Neal, Manu Ginobili, Matt Bonner and DeJuan Blair forces the Nuggets to take a timeout. The Spurs lead 36-32 with 8:50 left in the second quarter.

First quarter: The Nuggets lead 27-26 at the end of the first quarter. Manu Ginobili had 11 points for the Spurs and Tony Parker had eight.

Tiago Splitter made his first two shots. The Spurs and Nuggets are tied 21-21 with 2:38 left in the first quarter. Splitter got an early call off the bench after DeJuan Blair picked up his second foul.

The Spurs lead the Nuggets 14-12 with 6:16 left in the first quarter. Manu Ginobili has eight points, Tony Parker has six.